This invention relates to a fixed orifice ejector assembly adapted to intermingle gas with a process liquid or water to form a solution that is discharged from the assembly, and particularly to an assembly which promotes liquid turbulence and thereby enhances the interaction between the gas and the liquid, and in turn creates a higher vacuum level (greater available energy to operate the system) with the lowest possible energy loss across the ejector.
In order to introduce a gas such as chlorine or ammonia into a process liquid or water, it is known to provide a solution feed gas dispenser for this purpose. A typical commercially-available solution feed gas dispenser is the Series 70-1750 apparatus manufactured by Fischer & Porter Co. of Warminster, Pennsylvania. This dispenser is described in the Fischer & Porter Instruction Bulletin (Pub. No. 17234).
In a conventional gas dispenser such as the Fischer & Porter apparatus, water or process liquid is forced under pressure through the nozzle of an ejector assembly. As the water passes therethrough, a vacuum is created in the immediate downstream side of the nozzle by the high velocity of the emitted water. This vacuum acts to withdraw a back-flow ball check valve in the assembly from its seat to permit gas to enter the assembly in an interaction zone between the nozzle output and a throat. In this zone, the gas is mixed with the turbulent water issuing from the nozzle to form a chemical solution which is discharged via the throat through the solution piping to a point of application.
The operating efficiency of an ejector assembly can be measured by the amount of gas flow it can handle, at a defined vacuum level, for a given set of hydraulic parameters. In the case, for example, of a chlorinating system for water purification, it is desirable that water discharged from the ejector have as high a chlorine concentration as possible with respect to the operating vacuum level and the hydraulic parameters. The extent to which the incoming gas intermingles in the interaction zone with the liquid issuing from the nozzle of the ejector assembly is a function of the controlled turbulence of the liquid. The more turbulent the liquid within geometric confines, the larger is the surface area of the liquid in contact with the gas and thus the greater amount of gas dissolved for any given quantity of liquid.
While existing types of ejector assemblies, such as the fixed orifice ejector series 71J1100, manufactured by Fischer & Porter Co. and described in their Instruction Bulletin (Pub. No. 13952), include nozzles designed to produce liquid turbulence, these nozzles and the liquid input thereto do not create the degree of controlled turbulence as does this design which gives rise to a much higher order of ejector efficiency.